Rob Lowe

Actor

Born: 17 March 1964

Birthplace: Charlottesville, Virginia

Best known as: The handsome actor who played Sam Seaborn on TV's The West Wing

Rob Lowe is the handsome actor whose long film and TV career has taken him from hunky teen star to boyish middle-aged leading man. Rob Lowe attended Santa Monica High School with Sean Penn and Emilio Estevez, and later joined them and others in the 'Brat Pack' -- an unofficial group of young Hollywood actors popular in the 1980s. (The name was a takeoff on Frank Sinatra's famous 'Rat Pack.') Lowe's dark-haired good looks made him a particular hit with the ladies, and he quickly became a star. However, a 1988 homemade videotape of him cavorting in bed with a teenager humiliated him publicly. In the mid-1990s Lowe returned to prominence, mixing character roles with self-effacing comedy parts. His film credits include the films St. Elmo's Fire (1985), Bad Influence (1990, with James Spader), Wayne's World (1992, with Mike Myers), The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Thank You for Smoking (2005) and The Invention of Lying (2009). On TV he played Sam Seaborne, the idealistic and frequently lovelorn deputy communications director, for four seasons on The West Wing (1999-2003, with Martin Sheen). Rob Lowe also starred in the TV series Dr. Vegas (2004-06), the romantic drama Brothers and Sisters (2006-10), and starting in 2010, the deadpan comedy Parks and Recreation.